Monday, February 2, 2009

I finally re-visited my chocolate lava cake recipe, and this new user-friendly version looks better, sounds better, and doesn't call for any extra-large eggs. I don’t remember why the original recipe called for them, but this updated formula uses the standard large variety, which should save me from answering another 300 emails.

The original chocolate lava cake video recipe is probably the most watched, most commented, most emailed, and most linked-to recipe I've ever filmed. Most people like chocolate cake, but when you add "lava" to the name, they go completely mental.I also had the upcoming Valentine's Day in mind. For you single guys that aren't handsome, don't have money, and can't play a musical instrument, this may be the only arrow in Cupid's quiver. But take heart, it is a devastating weapon when used correctly. End your romantic home cooked meal with this dessert, and watch the magic. Enjoy!

Ok,I gotta preface this with the simple fact that I love your site and have learned so-o-o-o much from you. That being said I gotta tell you that I love chocolate lave cake but really prefer the ones that are made by pushing a little ball of very cold ganache into the middle of each of the ramekins batter. This one seems like underdone cake to me. I store them in the 'frig and bake them right before I want to serve them. They keep for at least a week.

Not that you're running a dating site, Chef John...but you sort of did started the thought train heading down this track.

1. Not to crush the dreams of the previous bachelor posters, but serving this to me for desert on V-day would not be a "big win" Then again, I guess I'm not your 'normal' woman or I wouldn't be single at this point in my life! (grin)

2. Speaking of dreams... So bachelors, if I served this to you on V-day would it be the "big win"? (Personally, I'm thinking a a good steak entree would be the big win for a man. As for me, the big win would be a super fresh seafood entree!)

This looks so damn good but I'm afraid it would never ever turn out right for me. Plus I would be worried about the egg part not being cooked enough. Is it cooked enough? Why do you fill the pan with water? I gave this 5 stars and faved it on YT.

chocolate lava centers:2 oz dark chocolate, chopped1 tsp butter1 1/2 oz heavy creamPut chocolate and butter in a small bowl. Heat cream and pour over. Stir until mixed. Cool, then chill. Form into round balls and put into freezer until ready to use.

Chocolate cake batter:Place 7 oz of dark chocolate and 8 oz butter in a metal bowl and melt over hot water bath.Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla and 3 egg yolks, mixing until smooth.Sift 1/3 cup flour into chocolate mixture and mix until smooth.Beat 3 egg whites, 1/8 tsp cream of tartar and 1/8 tsp salt in a clean metal bowl until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1/4 cup sugar while continuing to beat.Fold whites into chocolate mixture 1/3 at a time.Pour into well buttered ramekins to about 3/4 full. Push one ball of ganache into each cake.At this point, you may refrigerate until just before you want to serve them.Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes (maybe a little longer if chilled)Let cool for about 5 minutes before unmolding.And.....enjoy. Oops, sorry to steal your material!Jackie

Just made tonight, my ramekins were a little shorter but wider, still worked great. Did 17 minutes in oven, kenmore electric, and they were absolutley perfect! Cooked on all sides and lava in the middle! Thanks for all your videos!

hey Le Chef John!this recipe looks smashing! it looks a little less liquid in the centre than the previous video though.hey, if ever you want some real authentic pure belgian chocolate sent by mail, I'll gladly be your "liaison officer"!

For those looking for ramekin substitutes, I use my Noritake teacups, everyday ware not china. They are just sturdy enough for lavacakes plus that nice handle makes them safer to remove from waterbath. You can probably find them at any used dishware site or Ebay.Luisa Vacaville.

Jackie, thank you for your version of the lava cakes. A little more involved but I like the fact that I can bake on demand (store in fridge)until ready to enjoy. Chef John, not to worry, I will still check out Food Wishes for your wonderful entertaining food videos.

hmmm. mine turned out bad. the exterior doesn't get solid like a cake. what could possibly be wrong? the instruction on the video seems quite easy. i used a bigger cup though, could that be the reason?

hello. i've tried this four times, and everytime, the exterior of the cake is not as good looking as the one you made, mine looks all messy and it's so hard to take them off the cups, it usually breaks apart by the middle. but the taste is really really really good. I've tried baking it from 15-20 minutes but the result is almost the same, except when baked longer, the inside is not melting. so what am i missing here?

chef John i love all your recipies n your blog is a totaly wowie!!!!!!!!!!!! am a big foodie!!!!!n this perfect site ever n your stuff taste great i am tryin your stuff all of it is just super..please post more......

Hey Chef John, I recently made this, but it didn't rise, it was still amazingly good though, but it was a little short and not tall like yours, could this be a mess-up on the Order of the ingredients entered? or not whisking the egg enough?

I was sadly disappointed with the flavor of this cake =(. I looked through so many recipes and decided on this one, but the flavor just wasn't right. I picked it because I liked that the inside was more pudding then liquid consistency. I guess I'll be going back to the drawing board. (and I used the same chocolate =\)

Visited your blog for the first time today and love it! Entertaining to read/watch and I can't wait to try out a recipe. I'm having a dinner party and want to make the lava cakes. Does this recipe double easily and do I need to adjust the cooking time for 8?

Tonight I cooked as our night before school starts meal your lemon chicken in yogurt and got "this is edible" (high praise from my 10 and 8 year old for protein based entrees believe me....i really enjoyed it and they ate it all) and I got "You HAVE to make this again!" for this.

I just wanna let you know that I have used your recipe for several times and the cakes are very yummy!!! It's better than any other restaurants I have ever been to. Thank you so much for sharing it with us! ^_^

Followed this recipe but came out like hockey pucks. Figured out the ramakins I was using were 7 oz and not 5oz so more surface area wider and got overcooked i guess. Will try again with bigger batch of batter and will err on side of undercooked when monitoring cooking time.

Chef John, I just made this the other night for no particular reason other than the video made it look ultra yummy...followed everything to a T...it was fab!! So, incredibly easy to make...I'll definitely make this again...thank you for the recipe.

i love chocolate lava, usually when i was in indonesia or singapore there's always a place to eat this.but when i arrived in america,especially in texas(college station) i couldn't find any place to eat this cake that really taste great..then i think i will try to make it for myself.i have a bunch of time during new year's holiday before my school starts. luv ur recipes..

Hey Chef John, thanks for the updated recipe! I remember making it two years ago for valentine days and it turned out perfect!

Anyway, I ran into a little bit of trouble this time around. I now live in Colorado and the altitude didn't play well with the cake. I took the cakes out at exactly 15min as they were getting burnt (just slightly) around the edges. Let them sit to cool down and finish cooked and when I pulled them out the bottom half was still liquid -- however the top was good and cooked.

It's worth to note that with the ramekins I have I only get 2 cakes...but this wasn't an issue with the first cakes so I'm leaning more towards altitude adjustment...

Anyway, I did some research and all I could come up with was to lower the temp to about 400 and back a decent amount of time longer. Maybe even have the water bath sit in the oven a bit beforehand (as that seems to be where the problems lies). I'm just a little stumped here as I don't want the top (bottom really) to get all overcooked and chewy/burnt and not get the lava center.

Dear Chef John,I love all your videos! I haven't made anything yet, but recently I have become obsessive over making French macarons - not macarOOns with the coconut. i never tasted a macaron and I heard it is a challenge to many so i'm requesting a macaron tutorial from VOUS ! merci

Hi Chef John,I am trying your recipes like crazy. You are such a good teacher! I have a question for you about this cake. I made it, exactly like the recipe and video called for. The batter was much thicker than yours on the video and it wouldn't have filled up four 5.5 oz ramekins. I used 2.5 oz, and it only filled up three. What do you think caused it to thicken up? To much stirring with the flour in?

Dear Chef John, thanks for the informative and really interesting video! Did you place the chilled ramekins immediately into the water bath and into the preheated oven? What is the reason for chilling the batter?

The choc lava cake really turned out moist and delicious. When I inverted the cake, the top was a bit gooey and had some melted choc on top but otherwise the cake retained its perfect shape. Plus the inside was really like molten lava! Was the top suppose to be like that or should I have cooked it a bit longer? I baked it at 15 mins exactly.

Ok. I failed here. Everything came out right with the batter. But when I took them out of the oven, the chocolate inside had been cooked. Should I keep it in for less time, next time, and how do I know when they're done?

It's so easy to make this dessert! I don't have an oven nor ramekins at home. But managed to successfully bake this dessert in my little oven toaster for 3 minutes, using 8 3oz cupcake moulds.:) Love it!

Hi Chef John, Loved your recipe. In my experiment, the taste turned out great, intense chocolatey. But I couldn't take the cake out of the ramekin; it got broken apart by the middle and top stayed in the ramekin. Then, I baked it a little longer. Again, it broke apart and this time without a lava inside. What can I do for that?

Hey Chef John, I made this recipe tonight and ate it with vanilla icecream, turned out great! lol i watched the video of this recipe sooooo many times before i made it.my ramekin was a bit bigger than yours so all batter went into one and it was shared by three people =)i saw your comment about re-doing this recipe, looking forward to that. btw, i used the regular sized eggs.Thanks alot!

Hi, I've looked everywhere, but I want a real answer: do you need ceramic ramekins (I bet there's an alternate)? If not, what can I use that's cheaper but will produce the same delicioussss results?I want to do this for Christmas for my friend and I, we recently lost our favorite chocolate cake at a restaurant (how COULD they?)Thanks!

I want to make this for christmas but i want it to be more cooked, will it get ruined if i leave it to cook for longer?!also what kind of butter should i use and what kind of flour?! Im going food shopping tomorrow so feel free to email me at rgouyez@gmail.com

thanks!! we always buy this for our christmas desert but i want to make it this year!

I experimented last weekend. The taste was FABULOUS. Compared to what yours looks like, mine was less cooked on the edges and less lava-like in the middle. The consistency was more uniform from middle to edges. How do I correct this to make sure my lava is molten without it falling down? Hotter oven and shorter cook time? I went for 18 minutes because it looked too wet on top at 15. I'm trying to get this perfected for Christmas eve dinner.

Determined to perfect this for Christmas eve, we tried it again. I guess the way I'd describe the technique for a successful lava cake is that it requires the chef to "have his or her hands on the controls at all times." You can't put this on autopilot and just follow a recipe because there are too many variables. Ovens vary, the size of the ramekins (I could only find 4 oz or 8 oz, while you call for 5.5 oz), and the texture must be perfect - cooked enough to maintain its shape without just turning into a puddle of hot pudding. Ideally, cutting it open with a fork would result in a flow of chocolate heaven, creating an instinctive reaction by the diner to quickly scoop up the lava - or letting it flow into the ice cream. :-)

After the results of my first attempt (see my comments above) I surmised I needed higher temp, shorter cooking time, or both. I inspected it at 10 minutes and the top was still wet, causing some concern. I put it in for another 2 minutes and then took it out but left it in the water bath for another 2 minutes before putting the ramekins on a cooling rack. Why the 2 minute water bath? My 12-yr old daughter was the chef, calling the shots, and I was just her assistant/advisor. She decided that would be the thing to do so I went with it.

The result worked - it was softer inside than my first time and it looked like yours. I usually don't bake - I'd rather cook. But this recipe is worth perfecting and having in my quiver for special occasions. Next time I might experiment with a 10 or 11 minute baking time and immediately removing them to a cooling rack.

i tested it just now for the upcoming valentine, surprisingly it came out beautiful, from the lava in the inside until the little crisp on the edgy top. i don't like the taste of it, however. it's bizarre, i love chocolat, and usually i love just every recipe u put in here. i tried a looooot of it, this is the first time it fails me. guess i'm not a good baker! gonna stick to cooking dinner instead of baking..

I noticed on your original recipe it called for 2tsp of cocoa powder and on this one it says 4tsp. I made this using 4tsp for my Valentine (who loved it, btw). It did taste a wee bit bitter and I wondered which measurement is appropriate 2 or 4 tsp? Thanks!

I've been making this chocolate lava cake for the past 3 weeks and after few tweaks it's become one of my favourite desserts ever. Of course, valrhona chocolate doesn't hurt haa. However, I keep noticing that the bottom of the cake (which becomes the top after you flip it over) always looks very wet even after I decreased the amount of butter i was smearing on the sides. Any suggestions on how to get rid of that?

I don't know if you are going to answer this, but can I serve this beautiful dessert cold? Or does it have to be warm/hot? My birthday is coming up, I'm going to serve this to the guests, I'm just wondering, because I'm going to do the dessert before anything else, like appetizers and the main course. If it has to be warm, how can I heat it up afer the main course? Any tips? Should I just put it in the oven to get it warm? Thanks, love your blog!

this is an amazing recipe! thaaanks!i made them, but for some reason the batter turned out much ticker than yours, although i only put 3 table spoons of flour. also they were not moist inside.. probably a combination for leaving them 17 minutes instead of 15 and the batter not being as fluid as it should be.However the taste was still good, we had them with vanilla icecream

1 was half cooked (the bottom is all creamy at 12 minutes)the other was overcooked again...(added 2-3 minutes)Sigh...Does using somewhat larger bowls effect the outcome of making the cream not centered? Using 2 bowls with the same amount as the recipe.

Also the mixture is more smoother than last time but yes if I stir too much after the flour it does become gunky (not too gunky this time but it does effect the appearances)...

This is my first time on your site.I love your video for lava cake. Cooking is my passion as well. However I am not a Chef like your self.I will be back to try all your recipes.I added a link to one of my favorite recipes (Chocolate Floating Pudding).

Wow, this is really something special. I actually ordered some ramekins specifically to make this after watching the video (hint hint set up an amazon affiliate link for the supplies...) and it was totally worth it. I particularly like how the cakes come out in person sized servings and how the texture is rich and moist without being too buttery or overwhelming. I guess the cocao adds some dry chocolateness. Having a texture gradient makes the cake fun to eat and interesting throughout, like a Thai ice tea. I actually forgot to butter the ramkins first but I was able to get the cakes out ok anyway with a little careful prodding. My wife was super happy. Thanks so much!

but i got one very very big question... how to make the inside of the cake more wet and heavy... i mean when u cut the cake, i want the inside to be very heavy and wet.. i know it already has the wet and heavy feel.. but i wan MORE!!!!!! haha!!!

Hello Chef John,I tried this yesterday it came awesome, it was just as urs.. I gave surprise to my hubby and he wants it more ;).. thanks to u :)i m planning to prepare this for his birthday ( Coming April 28).So i want to know whether can i make it of birthday cake size? If so can u plz tell me the measurements.I hope u will not disappoint me :)Plz plz reply soon.

Okay reposting partDon't give up if you fail, I finally did at my 5th time!

New Part:For those who have larger ramekins hence flatter cakes, make it another half more and maybe 5 minutes extra for oven time(Your oven could be different than mine and also I put 2 at a time due the space constraints of my oven)?

And instead of letting it cool in the ramekins for 15 minutes, you can take it out and let it cool by it self. If not it would overbake from the heat of the ramekins.

hi chef John, i love your molten chocolate lava cake! it looks so awesome inside when you break it open in your video :) i am going to try and make these tonight for the first time for my dad for father's day :) i hope they turn out good, im starting to bake and cook more and i love it! im 15 and im making dinner for my big family at home and everyone always wants seconds, its the best thing seeing everyone smile eating food that i made :) hopefully everyone loves these ^__^~Amanda

My wife and i made your "Cherry Surprise Lava Cakes" and were stunned by how good they came out. I realize that the omission of placing a single pitted Cherry in each half filled ramekin then adding the rest of the batter on top was just to keep the time down. Genius as usual Chef!

Hello Chef, I just found your site yesterday and already have made 4 recipes! amazing! one question on this one, should the oven be turned on from the top and the bottom?, and on which rack should I put them?

Chief chef John!My batter doesnt lay down inside the cups as easy as yours does, I waited a couple of minutes but it seems to be thick i believe. And the batter gets thicker in the end, too much flour? and also I did not use the exact same size ramequins, not sure it really makes a huge difference, they are still small and round but better safe than sorry so i ask :)

Thanks for a great recipe Chef John! I've made this several times now and it always turns out great. I'm not sure I would have attempted it if it wasn't for your easy-to-follow video and laid-back style. Thanks again!

Chef John I absolutely love you and your recipes,watching you is amazing and I know that I should be studying and focusing on finals but instead I always just find myself googling your recipes.lolCan you do me a favour and tell me which cocoa powder you used ?Please&thankyou.:)

Dear Chef John, do I necessarily need to bake it in the pan 1/2 way filled with water? What happens if without water? Am I risking that the sides and the bottom gets over baked? Thanks for this great recipe.